You read that headline correctly--yes, veganism makes me a better adult.

If you're unfamiliar with veganism, I'll give a brief informational explanation on it. The Vegan Society defines veganism as "a way of living which seeks to exclude, as far as is possible and practicable, all forms of exploitation of, and cruelty to, animals for food, clothing or any other purpose."

People go vegan for a few reasons, and the main three are: animal rights, environmental awareness, and health concerns. The animal rights reason is fairly self-explanatory, but the other two motivations can raise a few questions, which I'll quickly answer.

In terms of the environment, vegan diets not only limit minimize significantly our carbon footprint caused via eating/purchasing certain foods, but also are a more space-efficient way to get your nutrition, meaning more food comes out of less farmland, as opposed to, for example, beef, which requires more land resources for food. According to Your Daily Vegan, the animal agriculture industry accounts for 45% of Earth's total land. That's a lot of land. Animal agriculture also depletes other resources, like in the US, where more than 80% of our water use goes to farming animals for food.

See also: VEGANISM IS 'SINGLE BIGGEST WAY' TO REDUCE OUR ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT ON PLANET.

And, for the final motivation for veganism, the health benefits. While there are so many, one health benefit that really sticks out to me is the fact that vegan diets are nearly completely void of cholesterol. Of the 15 top cholesterol raising fats, 13 are from animal products. Vegan diets decrease the likelihood of developing diabetes, rheumatoid arthritis, hypertension, heart disease, and various cancers.

Now you know that veganism makes you a better person in terms of health, environment, and in your level of moral guilt (in not subjecting innocent animals to exploitation and slaughter). But these aren't even the reasons that I feel veganism makes me a better adult--they're just reasons I use to explain why I'm vegan.

Veganism makes me a better adult because it forces me to be conscious of what I'm buying, how much I'm spending, how I'm getting the food I eat, and how frequently I cook for myself.

Any vegan knows that veganism requires a bit of work, especially at the start of it all. You research what foods aren't vegan that you thought were (pesto, for example), or what foods you didn't realize were vegan (Oreos are the common example here). You learn how to read a nutrition label on the back of the box and the ingredients list to find the items that will disqualify a food from being vegan.

Vegans are required to be conscious shoppers. You either spend a seemingly excessive amount of time reading labels, or you buy the foods from the vegan section--the latter option typically a lot more expensive than the other. You learn to budget your grocery money on whatever 'vegan food' you want (Gardein and non-dairy ice creams are my money-suckers) by buying mostly cheaper staples like rice, beans, and frozen vegetables. You are consciously not eating crap that humans weren't designed to eat anyway (i.e. milk), too, but that goes without saying. I learned quickly that buying pre-made meals marketed as vegan, while delicious and convenient, was not a cost effective way to grocery shop.

You're also conscious of whether you want to support companies that sell non-vegan food or from stores that sell non-vegan/non-ethically sourced foods. I like to vote with my money. Stores and brands will hopefully see the demand for and success of vegan friendly foods and continue to sell them, create new options, and perhaps, maybe, one day, eliminate some non-vegan options.

The last way veganism makes me a better adult is probably my most significant one. Veganism makes me cook for myself, frequently.

The vegan take out options near me are not only expensive, but also limited. The handful of premade/easy to make (for example frozen meals or the vegan version of box mac and cheese) vegan meals available are upwards of $5 a piece. That's not a bad price if you only buy one or two for the week, but buying only those options for an entire week of eating is a costly way to do things, especially considering I eat a lot of snacks, too.

5 (cost of meal) x 2 (how many times a day I'd need one) x 7 (days in a week) = 70

$70 for a week's worth of lunch and dinner, assuming I only buy the meals that cost less than $5. Not a very cost effective plan, considering that on top of that I'd also want food for breakfast and snacks, bumping that grocery total up closer to $80 or $85.

Thus, I have to come up with recipes that I like and buy the ingredients, which is a significantly more cost-effiicient way to eat vegan. When feeling particularly lazy, I can just cook some pasta, throw on some vegan butter, nutritional yeast, herbs, spices, and some salt, and call that dinner... but that gets real old, real fast.

Veganism forces me to cook myself breakfast, lunch, and dinner on most days. I work full time and am a full time student, though, and rarely after a long day of work and class do I feel like cooking or have the time to cook. How do I solve this dilemma of not wanting to buy $5 meals but also not having time/motivation to cook?

Meal prepping.

One night, every week or so, I spend about 3 hours cooking enough meals to last me for about a week. I put the food into Tupperware containers and stick it in the fridge, and when I'm ready to eat, I grab one, pop it in the microwave, and I have a healthy-ish meal. It's also helpful for days when I work, when I need food to eat on my lunch breaks. I put it into my little lunch tote and have food ready to go when I get on break, forcing me not to eat at the fast food places nearby, something not exactly healthy for me or my wallet.

Veganism makes me a better adult because I am an environmentally, budget, health, and ethically conscious person through my veganism.